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ABC News
3 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Record high gold prices prompt revival of outback Queensland mines
Once bustling with gold deposits along railroad tracks, the Cloncurry region in outback Queensland was a literal goldmine. But as the metal's price crashed in the 1990s, so did the digging and prospecting. This year, the gold price hit a record high of more than $5,070 per troy ounce. With the international commodity boom, a new gold rush era is on the rise — and the outback industry might be back in business. Australia is the third-highest producer of gold in the world, behind China and Russia, and ties with Russia as the top country for gold mine reserves. University of Queensland Sustainable Minerals Institute director Rick Valenta said the last time gold prices were close to 2025's numbers was in the 1980s, at $3,400 per troy ounce. "It's the highest it's ever been in history. That's probably a pretty good definition of a gold boom," he said. He said global political uncertainty caused gold prices to skyrocket in the past five years, driving the increase in fossicking, and reopening of historical mines across the country. "A really common thing to do is to go back and re-look at mines, particularly if the production happened 50 to 100 years ago," he said. "Methods for extracting [minerals] weren't as good as they are now, so people left a lot of gold behind. "In many cases you can go back and retreat the tailings and waste from those mines to extract [even more gold]." North West Queensland's historic mining history puts it at the top of the global resources stage, Professor Valenta said. "[North West Queensland] is just one of the special places on the planet that has an enormous amount of mineral endowment, and there's always that potential to take advantage of price cycles on deposits, where that can be done in a relatively short time," he said. The region is home to one of the most productive gold mines in the country — Ernest Henry Copper-Gold Mine — estimated to hold 2 million ounces of gold. Two companies are now looking to cash in on the historic, high-grade deposits in the region and soaring prices. Orion Resources and AuKing Mining Limited plan to re-lease 20 historic gold mines in the region, bringing them back to life under the banner of the Cloncurry Gold Project. The key cornerstone of the project is the acquisition of the old Mount Freda gold mine — a prominent open pit mine that ceased production during the 1990s gold price crash. In 2019, mining company Tombola Gold sought to revive production at Mount Freda, setting up production for AuKing and Orion. AuKing managing director Paul Williams said the project, which covers more than 400 square kilometres, aimed to be producing gold within the next 12 months. "With the gold price where it is and projecting to still be strong, that's probably opened up areas that historically were not available for the earlier mining companies, like Tombola," he said. The companies signed a preliminary agreement late last year and are set to finalise it at the end of July. "We're operating in a great gold price environment at the moment with access to a huge amount of data from the good work that previous groups have done," Mr Williams said. "The previous companies who owned the mines beforehand didn't have the gold price environment that we do now. "But we're looking to get moving with drilling initially and then hopefully probably around the Mount Freda area to start mining." The project is not the only one in the North West and Cloncurry regions vying to capitalise on the boom. Qgold's Woolgar Gold odyssey, 130 kilometres north of Richmond, is awaiting statutory approvals. Mayfield Mt Isa Copper-Gold Project is also mining in the mineral-rich Mary Kathleen region, alongside the recently opened Greater Duchess Copper Gold Project. So, is this a replica of the famous 19th century gold rush era for Queensland? Professor Valenta said while it was impossible to tell the future, current prices and increased prospecting showed a positive direction for the industry. "If you've a few gold coins in the bottom drawer, you'll get more from them now than you ever would have in the past," he said.
Forbes
26-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Spending On Gold Rises To 0.5% Of Global GDP, Up 400%
The gold rush, which has pushed the price above $3300 an ounce, is starting to distort the global economy with spending on the metal rising to an estimated 0.5% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), a 400% increase on 20 years ago. That calculation from Citi, an investment bank, is one of the startling findings in a report which said that the gold price should remain elevated through the September quarter but possibly start ease towards the end of the year. 'Gold demand is firing on all cylinders at present, with 0.5% of world GDP currently being spent on gold, the highest in 50 years of data," Citi said. "Extremely strong investment demand for bars and coins is being driven by the 3Ds (deterioration in U.S. and global growth, debasement of the U.S. and Chinese currencies, and diversification away from the dollar). 'Investment demand is broad bases across all reported categories (retail, exchange traded funds, over the counter sales and central bank buying). Household wealth held in jewelry, bars and coins has risen to an all-time high of 3%, doubling over the past five years, Citi said. In terms of regional household wealth, the bank said that in India the share of gold had risen from between 7%-and-9% to between 15%-and-18% over the last three years. The bank estimates that spending on gold is currently running at between $350-and-$400 billion a year. The bank said gold miners are enjoying their most profitable conditions in 50 years with high-cost miners relishing a $2000 per ounce gap between the five-year forward gold price and the 90th percentile of the all-in mining cost curve. Another measure of the gold boom noted by Citi in its latest gold market outlook report is that central banks have doubled the gold share of their foreign reserves to 40%, the highest in 30 years. The bank expects gold price to consolidate around their current level in the second half of the year as the world digests U.S. tariff policy, while geopolitical risks remain high and the Indian and Chinese economies remain strong. Gold bars getty 'We expect some range trading opportunities between $3100/oz and $3500/oz, up from $3000/oz and $3300/oz in our most recent publication,' Citi said. Over the longer term the bank turns cautious with two factors possibly weighing on the five-year forward price curve of $3600/oz-to-$3700/oz. The first negative factor is that the potential for price drivers of the past three years, including geopolitical uncertainty start to ease while pro-growth policies develop in the U.S. along with further interest rate cuts. The second factor which might weigh on the gold price is that the metal has simply run hard for more than years with households loaded up with gold to 3% of net worth, the highest in half a century. 'In this way, high prices could well be the cure for high prices,' Citi said.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- The Guardian
Music, wine and waterfalls: a local's guide to Beechworth
Beechworth is on the traditional lands of the Wiradjuri, Wavereoo, Dhudhuroa, Min-jan-buttu and Ya-itma-thang people, who collectively make up the Pallanganmiddang nation. It's about three hours from Melbourne. People used to visit en route to the Victorian alpine region ski fields but it's become its own destination now, known for its well-preserved gold rush-era sandstone buildings. Before they closed in 1995 and 2004, respectively, most residents worked at Beechworth Asylum (also known as Mayday Hills) and Beechworth Gaol. Later, Beechworth Bakery (which opened in 1984) got popular for its pies and cakes, more things opened and now tourism is the main industry. Lots of people have tree-changed here so the area's gentrified a lot, but a plus side is the food scene has vastly improved. Bandit is part of the recent boom of sandwich places. It only does five or six fillings, and they're made to order. The Reuben is excellent. Bridge Road Brewers opened 20 years ago. Its first beer, a pale ale, is usually the top-rated Victorian beer in the Gabs Hottest 100 countdown. It's in a gold rush-era coach house and serves the best pizza in town. There's a playground where adults can see their kids while they eat and drink, so it's a relaxed dinner spot for families. Provenance is Beechworth's only fine dining restaurant. It's Japanese food by award-winning chef Michael Ryan. It's set in a grand old bank with high ceilings that still feels date-night intimate. The set menu of 18 small dishes is $170 so it's mainly for milestone birthdays or anniversaries. We have about 20 coffee spots and only two main streets! I like Tiny. You run into people there and it's licensed after 11am. I DJ there some evenings, and they serve cocktails on weekends. Coffee snobs rate Little Nev highly. It's open 6am until midday and serves out of a former horse float parked in an old service station. Project 49 is an Italian provedore selling local goods from small-scale producers: meat, wine, cheese, condiments and excellent coffee. The traditional name for Beechworth is Baarmutha, or Barmootha, which translates to 'place of many creeks'. It's known for its excellent swimming holes. To get to Beechworth Gorge, park at the historic gunpowder magazine, walk over Spring Creek Bridge and head down the trail down to Spring Creek to find a series of blissful rock holes carved out along the creek. The 3km walk is a real scene in summer with people lying around and swimming. The jaw-droppingly beautiful Woolshed Falls is easier to get to, so it can be pretty crowded. You shouldn't get close to the falls but further up there are spots where you can soak in the cool water. The loop walk around Lake Sambell is beautiful at sunset. There's plenty of trees for shade earlier, too, and fishing, kayaking and dragon boating. There's a cute beach called Sandy Beach, a playground and barbecues. Mountain biking is huge here. The Indigo Epic is a rugged mountain bike trail going 56km to Yackandandah. The Rail Trail runs between towns like Bright and Wangaratta and is for long-distance leisure biking. The Bike Hire Company rents bikes and runs shuttle pick-ups for one-way trips. Pub culture has always been big. The story goes that people worked tough jobs at the asylum and the gaol so they did a lot of drinking. I book weekend gigs at Tanswell's Hotel. It's mostly free entry with a pretty rowdy vibe. Out-of-towners pop their heads into the front bar after hearing music when they're walking down Ford Street. When there's a stoner rock band from Sweden or an all-female punk band, it can seem pretty incongruous for a small country town. Country and bluegrass goes down well in Beechworth. We have amazing local bluegrass players doing afternoon sessions. Hotel Nicholas has Guinness on tap and decent pub food and curries. It does a monthly Irish jam with traditional instruments. It's more of a sports pub; there are lots of televisions showing AFL and NRL. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion Old Stone Hall does sporadic live shows, skewed towards female performers. They're seated, intimate gigs where you drink local wine and, between songs, you can hear a pin drop. This is cool climate wine country and all the pop-up events, pubs and most restaurants serve local wines. You can sample them at Cellar Door Wine Store and Vino Bar. Eldorado Road winery has a cellar door in town. Michael Ryan of Provenance makes his own amaro and recently opened a vintage-style bar, The Parlour, upstairs at the restaurant. It's open on weekends from 5.30pm, but if you can see the red light on from the roundabout between Camp and Ford streets, it's open and Ryan's there pouring amaro-based cocktails and playing records. The Beechworth region has lots of festivals. They're big things on the cultural calendar here; everyone goes and parents take their kids. On festival weekends there's an influx of out-of-towners, which really transforms the vibe. At the High Country Hop (27-29 March 2026) at Bridge Road Brewery you can taste beers from visiting brewers from the US or New Zealand. The Japanese band the 5.6.7.8s and Australian singer-songwriter Darren Hanlon played last time. The super kid-friendly Spring Ditch! (March) is in Stanley, 10 minutes from Beechworth. There's music but also old-school games like sack races. Wonder Mountain (5-7 September) at Tanswell's Hotel is curated by the Strawberry Fields team. It's a huge pull for young out-of-towners who wear flamboyant western wear to dance to DJs. Yackandandah folk festival (20-22 March 2026) runs in venues across town; it's been going for decades. Metal in the Mountains (November) pulls a completely different crowd. It's not strictly metal, there's hard rock and pub rock too. If the weather's good it's in the village green, otherwise it's in the memorial hall. Drag'd Out (back in 2026) celebrates queer culture with drag artists doing shows and kids' workshops. Beechworth Historic and Cultural Precinct is a huge part of the town's heritage. Bushranger Ned Kelly was tried in the Beechworth Historic Courthouse and imprisoned in the Old Beechworth Gaol. The tours are great though it's a pretty depressing story. Asylum Ghost Tours run in the old asylum, Mayday Hills. They take you through the place at night and tell you all the horrific things that happened. I learned that if you were a woman, it took one signature to get you committed (your husband could do it) and three to get you out. So once women were in, they usually stayed long-term. A self-guided tour of Beechworth Public Cemetery will bring you to a Chinese section with the graves of about 2,000 gold seekers and settlers. The Chinese burning towers are historically significant, too; they'd burn paper money to impart riches into the afterlife. Armour Motor Inn (from $155 for a queen room) is my backup for bands I book if they can't stay at the pub. It's cute, retro and central. The Linaker Motel (from $125 for a queen suite) is in an art deco building in Mayday Hills that was the former nurses' quarters for the asylum. It has an edge of The Shining to it, but it's good value. The Benev (from $360 a night) is a spa with lovely rooms, and pretty central. It's in a beautiful brick building with a great view. The two caravan parks are very good. You're right on the water at Lake Sambell caravan park (from $50 for unpowered site to $370 for a three-bedroom villa) and it hires out kayaks and has a coffee truck. Beechworth holiday park (from $45 for an unpowered site to $190 for a three-bedroom villa) is a five-minute drive towards Stanley but it's surrounded by forest and is totally gorgeous. Doug Wallen is a journalist, band booker and broadcaster based in Beechworth
Associated Press
20-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Sranan Gold Announces Listing on Tradegate Exchange in Germany
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - May 20, 2025) - Sranan Gold Corp. (CSE: SRAN) (FSE: P84) (Tradegate: P84) ('Sranan' or the 'Company') announces that has received its listing on the Tradegate Exchange in Germany and has commenced trading under the ticker symbol P84. The new listing enhances the Company's visibility in Europe and presents an exciting opportunity to further broaden its shareholder base. About Tradegate Exchange Tradegate AG operates as a market specialist on Europe's most liquid retail exchange, the Tradegate Exchange. As a market specialist and liquidity provider, Tradegate manages over 10,000 German and international stocks and exchange-traded products. This ensures fast and direct execution of securities orders, making it an ideal platform for investors. Tradegate is the leading liquidity guarantor on the broker side, showcasing steady growth since 2000. A listing on Tradegate Exchange provides several possible benefits, including: About Sranan Gold Sranan Gold Corp. is engaged in the business of mineral exploration and the acquisition of mineral property assets in Suriname. The highly prospective Tapanahony Project is located in the heart of Suriname's modern-day gold rush. Tapanahony covers 29,000 hectares in one of the oldest and largest small-scale mining areas in Suriname. There is significant production from saprolite by local miners along a 4.5-kilometre trend, where several areas of mining have been opened. Sranan Gold is also exploring its Aida Property consisting of five mineral claims covering an area of 2,335.42 hectares on the Shuswap Highland within the Kamloops Mining Division. For more information, visit Information contact Oscar Louzada, CEO +31 6 25438975 THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE HAS NOT APPROVED NOR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENT OF THIS PRESS RELEASE. Forward-looking statements Certain statements in this release constitute 'forward-looking statements' or 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable securities laws including, without limitation, the timing, nature, scope and details regarding the Company's exploration plans and results. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company, its projects, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'may', 'would', 'could', 'will', 'intend', 'expect', 'believe', 'plan', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'scheduled', 'forecast', 'predict' and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect the company's current expectations regarding future events, performance and results and speak only as of the date of this release. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit
Daily Mail
11-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
New gold rush is on the horizon as experts say deserted mine is still FILLED with extremely valuable minerals
A new gold rush could be on the horizon after geologists re-examined an abandoned site in Wyoming. The Carissa Gold Mine at South Pass City attracted thousands of laborers in 1867 - but it was abandoned after just a few years with little success. Fast-forward 150 years, and experts believe the mother lode still lurks several hundred feet beneath the surface. Canadian firm Relevant Gold has said they have found several promising metal belts in the area, and modern technology can unleash the full potential this time around. The company, founded by geologists Rob Bergmann and Brian Lentz, said they believe a gold rush could be coming to Wyoming this summer. 'When you look at historic mining projects, the reason they shut down is always economic,' Bergmann, Relevant Gold co-founder and CEO, told Cowboy State Daily. 'That doesn't mean the resource has necessarily run out, though. And that's exactly what we see in South Pass.' Bergmann said he thinks the hidden treasures at Carissa could be comparable to the Abitibi gold belt - a 630 kilometer-wide region of Canada which extends from Wawa, Ontario to Val d'Or, Quebec. The Abitibi district is home to more than 100 mines, which have produced 170 million ounces of gold since 1901. Relevant Gold honed in on Carissa after collecting data from drilling samples and magnetic surveys conducted with Wyoming Geological Survey and U.S. Geological Survey. The Canadian company is also exploring other pockets of Wyoming for potential treasure, with five large-scale projects launched in the state so far. 'We will put (each area) through our systematic exploration process,' Bergmann told Cowboy State Daily. 'We start by looking at all the data to analyze an area, and then we'll put a plan together for boots on the ground.' This summer, Relevant Gold plans to drill in previously unexplored depths, including a region of the Seminoe Mountains near Rawlins. 'There was historic mining there, similar to South Pass City, and it's never been drilled before,' Bergmann said. 'We are the first to go test the rocks below the surface, to see if there are opportunities there to unlock value.' And it's not just gold - more than 2.34 billion tons of rare earth minerals have been discovered in Wyoming in recent years. This means the US could soon surpass China as the world leader in rare earth minerals. American Rare Earths Inc announced last year that reserves near Wheatland dramatically surpass the Asian nation's 44 million metric tons, saying it 'exceeded our wildest dreams' after drilling only about 25 percent of the property. The company has a stake in 367 mining claims across 6,320 acres of land in the Halleck Creek Project, along with four Wyoming mineral leases on 1,844 acres on the same project now called Cowboy State Mine. The types of minerals at the site are used in smartphones, hybrid car motors and military technologies - among others.
